Finding Love in All the Cheap Places

I am a girl who loves a good bargain. And I'm constantly looking for a good deal. So naturally I have a love for perusing thrift stores and Craigslist for my next big find. My desk, bookshelf, coffee table and end table from my college apartment were all refurbished pieces of furniture that my roommate and I found for next to nothing at our local thrift store. And they were actually cute and well-made! In fact, one of the pieces is still in my house today, and I still get compliments on it. It just goes to show that a little bit of paint or reupholstering can go a long way. And the best part is that you're finished, you will have a one-of-a-kind piece.

Here are a few before and after pictures that will show you exactly what I mean.

And check out this transformation featured on Living with Lindsey.

This old, tiered piece, shown on Design Sponge, looks completely with a little effort and a little paint.

And lastly, here is a dresser redo by Michelle at Three Men and a Lady. If you don't let door pulls and other cosmetic things cloud your vision, you too can come out with wonderful piece like this.

savvyhousekeeping dresser diy

When you go shopping for your next piece of furniture, be sure to put Craigslist, thrift stores and flea markets on your list of places to checkout. You never know what you might find. And if you see something that looks too beat up or out-of-date to even think about bringing home, stop and give it another glance. If it has great lines, it has great potential.

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Our Living Room Mood Board

Our living room is slowly but surely coming together. The biggest To Do's are ordering a new media console, painting the room (which is unfortunately open to the dining room, kitchen, office and breakfast area which means lots of painting to be done!), order a few lamps and a console for the long wall behind the couch. I realize I haven't shared any pictures of our "new" house (we moved in at the end of last October) with you guys. So here's a glimpse of the living room before we moved in. This is what you see when you walk in the front door. The dining room is on the left, the living room is straight ahead and the office on the right. A closer look at the living room. Florida loves their plant ledges...I do not. You win some. You lose some. I also want to replace the tile around the fireplace. A view from the back of the living room looking toward the front corner of the house. The room behind the half green wall is the o...

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Up Up And Away- Take Two (And Three)

We took our second family flight this past June. We took the earliest flight out so we had to wake up at 4:00am to get everything ready. I had all of the girls' stuff ready and laid out so we only woke them five minutes before we left at 5:00 am. Rollins is our late sleeper so I thought she would for sure fall back asleep in the car on the way to the airport. Nope. Auden, who is typically my early riser (with the sunrise), fell asleep instead. I guess Rollins knew something was up and was too excited to miss anything. She didn't fall asleep until we were 10 minutes from our friends' house in Dallas. Meanwhile, Auden fell asleep again on the plane. Proof that you can never predict what toddlers will do during travel days. Auden loved getting to use her new suitcase and travel backpack (that daddy so graciously attached to his luggage for her). We got quite a few comments from those ...

House of Hydrangeas

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